Boston has an aggressive vision to be Carbon Free by 2050. In an effort to meet that vision, the city needs strong leaders, innovators willing to disrupt the industry, and significant advances in IoT and Technology.

Ahead of the Advance Energy Group’s Q1 Stakeholder Breakfast event in the country’s capital, we look at what has been accomplished by the industry’s thought leaders, policy makers and private and public sector partners as climate security plays a significant role in the U.S. capital’s resiliency planning

Join Advanced Energy Group on March 14that the Q1 breakfast series to discuss resiliency, critical infrastructures, and microgrids as they relate to the Chicagoland area and state of Illinois. The breakfast will feature a panel of experts, small group brainstorming activities, and actionable next steps.

Featuring an exclusive interview with Susanne DesRoches, the Deputy Director of Infrastructure and Energy at NYC Mayor's Office of Resiliency, this blog explores the developments in Resiliency, Critical Infrastructure and Microgrids taking place around the city ahead of the NYAE Q1 2019 Stakeholder Series.

AEG’s Q4 Breakfast on Mobility and Transportation comes at a unique time: Chicago is navigating a pivot in urban infrastructure and departmental design. In September, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the creation of a Transportation and Mobility Task Force and in October, Emanuel linked Chicago’s historical role as a national transportation hub with its technological innovation, calling on the city to write a new “blueprint for the future.”

Amazon’s announcement to locate part of its new headquarters in Arlington, Virginia will be a significant jolt to the economy of the DC metro area. This announcement emphasizes the need for a more sustainable living environment. It has created a new focus on DC’s transportation infrastructure, which already experiences regular traffic bottlenecks from transporting hundreds of thousands of commuters to and from the District each day.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a $5 million grant for rebates on electric charges in New York City in September. He said, "By expanding public access to electric vehicle charging stations, this program will make it more affordable for New Yorkers to make the switch to an environmentally friendly electric vehicle…” This is part of a much larger effort led by multiple government agencies as part of Governor Charge NY 2.0.

Transportation & Mobility is an important component of urban carbon reduction strategy. The IPCC Special Report stresses the need for stronger climate action in the mobility field, as the transportation sector accounts for 23% of CO2 emissions. The Boston’s Q4 series is going to be especially interesting as the city has developed a clear plan for addressing these action-items through Go Boston 2030

Chicago continues to drive towards IoT capabilities in energy generation, distribution, and efficiency, supported by the City of Chicago and the city’s dominant utility, Commonwealth Edison. Chicago’s keen adoption of new technologies is in part a reflection of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s policy, he has stated: “Chicago is continuing to invest in the industries of tomorrow in order to create the jobs we need today.”

The Internet of Things (IoT), Innovation & Technology is a dynamic subject that touches an array of fields that extends outside the energy sector. Washington D.C. is one of numerous cities across the country that are racing to take advantage of the potential improvements from IoT technology that will impact different parts of the city’s ecosystem.

Improvements in technology have consistently moulded the cities we live in; IoT and other related modern technologies are bringing about a similar leap in how they continue to evolve. The opportunity and role it has to play in achieving New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) plan, as well as OneNYC’s citywide emission reduction goal of 80% by 2050, cannot be ignored.

AEG’s Boston chapter is approaching its one year anniversary with the upcoming Q3 Series on IoT, Innovation, and Technology. Past Boston AEG series have had spectacular turnout with a highly-engaged stakeholder audience, and this series should be no exception. Boston is at the top of the charts for National Clean Tech Leadership, primarily derived from its ability to innovate and its access to a high-quality workforce.

DC has been paying more attention to the modernization of the electric grid. Cost reductions and improved performance of DERs are creating opportunities for the grid to operate more efficiently and at lower costs. Over the past few years, the city has been exploring how buildings and facilities that were primarily end-users of electricity can assist in power management and delivery across the District.

Set forth by Mayor De Blasio, OneNYC aims to reduce citywide greenhouse gas emissions to 80% below 2005 levels by 2050. Reaching this target relies on a variety of energy efficiency efforts. Currently, 80% of NYC emissions come from buildings. Taking into account the pace of current developments, 90% of existing buildings are expected to remain standing in 2050.

As a coastal city, New York faces multifaceted levels of risks from extreme weather events. Some parts of the city are still recovering from Superstorm Sandy in 2012, which highlighted the massive financial and social cost of these types of disasters, as well as the city’s under-preparedness for such events. With recent hurricanes causing extreme flooding, these critical infrastructure risks apply across the country and the globe.

In 2016, Washington, DC became a member of 100 Resilient Cities, joining a network of over 1,000 metropolises around the world dedicated to improving the resiliency of systems and infrastructure. A Resilience Strategy to prepare the District for future threats is being developed through a collaborative effort that will incorporate input from all stakeholders, in hopes of creating a comprehensive strategy for addressing a spectrum of threats.

The US burns about 19 million barrels of oil a day; roughly 70% of those barrels accommodate the transportation system. The consequences—such as environmental degradation and economic volatility, as well as contributing to the negative effects of climate change—pose a massive threat to different aspects of the country’s well-being.

The speed of change taking place in renewable energy generation, storage, and the technologies is closely associated with the internet of things (IoT). In New York, it has provided a space for smaller, yet positively disruptive technologies such as actively-monitored workstations and lighting fixtures to be paired with elevator and ventilation systems to reduce overall building energy consumption.